Their legacy was on the line, and fifth-year senior guard Cory Bradford wasn’t going to pretend otherwise.
Asked if Illinois’ showdown with Kansas on Friday night in the semifinals of the NCAA Midwest Regional at the Kohl Center would define the Fighting Illini’s season, Bradford didn’t flinch.
“Yes,” Bradford said emphatically Thursday.
“Getting here didn’t seem as exciting because we’ve done this before. We’ve also won this game before. But to get back to where we left off last year would be a huge accomplishment.”
What Bradford left unsaid was that anything short of a return trip to the Elite Eight would also forever stamp this year’s team–and the senior class in particular–as a group that was rich with talent but couldn’t make that final leap to greatness.
Kansas had a legacy of underachievement–no Final Four trip since 1993–it, too, was trying to end. And with a hard-fought 73-69 victory the Jayhawks did just that, moving into Sunday’s Elite Eight matchup with Oregon.
Kansas (32-3) was paced by Drew Gooden and Keith Langford with 15 points each and Nick Collison and Aaron Miles with 11. Illinois (26-9) got 15 points from Frank Williams, 10 of them in the first half, and 13 from Brian Cook.
Three straight three-pointers and a fast-break layup by Luther Head helped the Illini erase a six-point halftime deficit and draw even at 45-45 with 15 1/2 minutes to go. But Gooden and Langford put Kansas in front again 51-46 two minutes later.
Things got even more ticklish for Illinois at the 12-minute mark when center Robert Archibald was whistled for his fourth foul. With Archibald on the bench, the Jayhawks started going to Collison underneath again and again. With 8 1/2 minutes to go, Kansas enjoyed its biggest lead of the game at 61-53. And two minutes later, the Jayhawks were still in front by eight (65-57), thanks to Collison.
Archibald reentered the game with 6 1/2 minutes left, but the Illini were running out of time. A turnaround jumper by Gooden and a fast-break layup by Langford gave Kansas a 69-59 lead with 5:08 remaining. Guarded tightly by Miles, Illinois point guard Frank Williams hadn’t scored in 11 1/2 minutes.
Finally, with 3:31 left, Williams found Sean Harrington open on the wing for a three-pointer that cut the gap to 69-64 with 3:31 to go. A fast-break layup by Williams made it 69-66 Kansas before Collison laid it in for a 71-66 lead. Archibald’s tip-in made it 71-68 with 2:00 left and when Collison committed his fifth foul at the 1:15 mark, Archibald went to the line and cut it to 71-69 with one free throw.
When Jeff Boschee missed a three-point attempt at the other end, Archibald got the rebound and Illinois had the ball with 37.1 seconds left and 30 remaining on the shot clock. Cook missed a wide-open three-pointer with 25 seconds left and Kansas got the ball back. Archibald fouled out with 19.4 to go and sent Boschee to the line for a one-and-one. He missed the front end and Illinois got the ball, but Williams missed a baseline jumper with 4 seconds left. Harrington fouled Langford with 2.8 seconds on the clock and Langford made both for the victory.
Despite getting off to a horrible start offensively, the Illini appeared to have the Jayhawks right where they wanted them–stylewise–at halftime. Kansas led 40-34 but Illinois had accomplished its primary goal. It had contained the Jayhawks’ run-the-floor attack and forced them into a half-court game. As an added bonus, starters Hinrich and Collison both had three fouls.
Key stat of the first half: Kansas was in front by six points despite only two fastbreak points.
For the Illini, though, it was uphill all the way after they missed eight of their first nine shots and 14 of their first 18. Williams contributed to the inefficiency by missing his first six attempts, but by the break he had 10 points.
Illinois battled back from a 17-11 deficit to get within 21-20 before finally grabbing its first lead of the game 26-24 on a three-pointer by Williams from the top of the key.
The score was tied 26-26 and 32-32 but it was the Jayhawks’ shooting (53.8 percent) and their bench that accounted for the halftime lead. In the last four minutes, backup forward Wayne Siemen scored four points and Aaron Miles added a jump shot at the buzzer, giving him a team-high 11 by the break. Illinois, meanwhile, had put up 33 shots but had made only 11. After 20 minutes the much-anticipated was almost dead even, with Kansas leading 19-16.
Archibald had seven points at the half but when he picked up his third personal 85 seconds into second half, the Illini were teetering on foul problems.
